Da Capo
by Ryuko Ishida
Summary: SEQUEL to BETRAYAL Two years had pass...Izumi had waited for Kouji for two years, but Kouji didn't show up. Later on, Izumi was sent to a boarding school, where she met Kouji again. Would they be back together, or are they destined to be alone forever?
1. The Broken Promise

Da Capo (From the Beginning)  
  
Written by Meeko Melodie  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the plot and the characters I've added.  
  
Summary: This is a sequel to Betrayal Two years...Izumi had waited for Kouji for two whole years, but Kouji didn't show up! Had Kouji forgot about the promise? Disappointed, she returned home only to find out another shocking news-her parents died in a car crash! Now even more miserable, Izumi was taken by her aunt, who sent her away to a boarding school to get rid of her. There she met a lot of new people, but what she did not expect is that Kouji went to the same school as well. Will they get back together or are they destined to be alone forever?!  
  
Chapter 1: The Broken Promise  
  
Two years back, Kouji had written a letter to Izumi and put it on the Orimoto's doorstep. He left for England to study. Izumi waited him for two long years.

The two years had ticked away slowly and Izumi still didn't change much, or at least, her heart didn't change. She was still waiting for him, waiting. . .She didn't forget that day when Kouji was playing in the competition, all his feelings for her. She could feel it and she really wanted to talk to him, face to face. But she didn't have the courage at that time and ran away from him. She regretted herself for doing that. But it was no use now. If she really wanted to see him again, she had to wait and she did.  
  
That day . . .Early in the morning, the sun had not even rose yet and already, Izumi changed into her t-shirt and khaki pants, grabbed her keys and rushed out into the dark.There were still a few faint stars lingered in the mysterious blue sky as Izumi ran past bus stops and signs. In a few minutes, she had reached the Yakohema beach. The sea currents were strong, even in the middle of August, and Izumi shuddered as a gust of wind blew through her long, blond hair. Izumi looked over at the beach, no sign of anyone. But wait! Who's that dark figure walking along the water? Mystified, Izumi walked towards the figure."He looked really familiar," Izumi thought to herself as she stepped closer to the boy. In the dark with a little pink light from the east, she could see that the boy has short, navy blue hair, wearing a big, white t- shirt and baggy shorts."Could it be . . .?" Izumi hesitated, breathing in with difficulty. Just then, the boy heard the noise behind him and jerked his head to look what was causing the noise. That action definitely surprised Izumi and she lose her balance, causing her to fall on the sand."Oww. . . "Izumi moaned in pain, rubbing her back. The boy lent her his hand as he gently pulled her back up on feet."Thanks," Izumi murmured, still hurt from the fall."No problem," the boy answered, still holding on to her hand."Kouichi?" Izumi asked, recognizing the voice."Yea," Kouichi answered.Izumi looked down at her hand, which was still being held by Kouichi and she blushed lightly.Kouichi noticed that and quickly dropped her hand and apologized."That's okay," Izumi tried to smile, "what are you doing here, anyway?" Kouichi looked away and answered," Nothing, really. I'm just walking around.""Are you sure?" Izumi asked, observing Kouichi's solemn expression."I'm moving," Kouichi replied simply. Izumi was shocked."But why?" Izumi asked him."My mom just married a rich guy and she wants me to have a better education so they both decided to send me to a boarding school," Kouichi said, looking at the water."Oh," Izumi said, "but do you actually want to go?""Yea, sure," Kouichi replied," my mom wanted me to and I don't want to disappoint her.""Oh," Izumi said again. They were silent for some moments."What are you doing here this early?" Kouichi now turned his attention back to Izumi."Erm. . ." Izumi hesitated, she was not sure if she should tell him or not."You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Kouichi said quickly."I'm waiting for Kouji," Izumi answered."Kouji. . ." Kouichi was thinking," didn't he go to England to study?""Yea," Izumi said, "but he promised me he'll meet me here two years later.""I see," Kouichi said, and commented, "He should be here if he really misses you.""Maybe he's just a little late," Izumi said, trying to make herself feel better.Kouichi left her alone without saying anything; while Izumi keep waiting as people slowly drifted in to the beach.  
  
Tokyo National Airport   
  
At the early morning at that same day, the airport was packed with people. People going out of the country were checking in on desks and heavy suitcases were being heaved on to belts, which would send their belongings on to the airplane. In the crowds, a long, dark blue haired boy was standing alone in front of the gate.  
  
Flashback   
  
"You're going to Vancouver tomorrow," a man said to his son, who was obviously Kouji Minamoto."What?" Kouji asked, jerking his head towards his father sharply, which almost broke his neck."You are going to Vancouver to study tomorrow," his father repeated."You're telling me that because. . ." Kouji asked, cocking his eyebrow."You should go pack your things now," his father suggested."No!" Kouji shouted hotly."Calm down, son," his father tried to reason with him."How can you do this to me?" Kouji asked hotly, "I just came back from England and now you want me to get the hell out of this house again.""Kouji," his step mother came in, surprised at his use of language."You stay out of this," Kouji said to her rudely."Say sorry to your mother," his father said, his face getting red and he was starting to get angry."Why should I?" Kouji said, glaring at his parents, "she's not even my mother!" Kouji walked quickly out of the room and out of the house.  
  
End of Flashback  
  
Kouji shifted his backpack on to his other shoulder and walked into the gate. He passed the guards and the security and he sat on one of the many plastic chairs, waiting for the plane."Flight CX 838 is now boarding," a voice announced over the speakers.Kouji picked up his back pack, got out his plane ticket and went to line up. The flight attendant checked his ticket and pointed him into a tunnel, which lead to the plane. In the plane, another attendant checked his ticket and helped him to find his seat."This is the captain of the plane. You are riding CX 838, destination Vancouver, Canada. The plane will leave in a few minutes. Please buckle up your seat belt and enjoy the ride."Kouji put on his seat belt and in a moment, the plane was moving out the way and as the plane pick up the speed, it was flying above the city of Tokyo. Kouji closed his eyes.  
  
Flashback   
  
Kouji slammed the door behind him and he strolled along the side walk. He had come back for a week and he planned to stay here for some time. But now, his father made him study in some stupid boarding school in Vancouver and that ruined his plan. He hated his father for not being reasonable at all. He should at least tell him before hand, not the day before the flight.Steaming, Kouji continued to walk, thinking at the same time. He should tell her he was leaving. He hadn't seen her for two years now and Kouji wondered if Izumi had changed much. Then he remembered his promise to her meeting at the beach tomorrow. But he couldn't make it. His flight was too early. Desperate, Kouji thought about going to her house and tell her. A part of him wanted to go but a part of him didn't. At the end, he decided that Izumi would be happier if she didn't know about it. So Kouji just went home.He knew that once his father had made up his mind, he would never change his plan and there was no use in arguing with him either.  
  
End of Flashback   
  
The sun was setting as Izumi was still sitting at the same place. Her stomach was grumbling but she didn't want to leave, in case Kouji came by when she was getting something to eat. But as night came and the stars came out, she knew that Kouichi was right, "if he really misses me, he should be here a long time ago."Disappointed, she walked home, shaking horribly, but not because of hunger. It was because she was crying silently.  
  
Meeko: Ok, done! Don't like the last sequel I've started so I start a new one. Please sent me some comments, thank you very much! 


	2. The Dreadful News

Da Capo (From the Beginning)  
  
by Meeko Melodie  
  
Author's note: I didn't add this on the first chapter but JP fans, beware: there'll be no JP in this fiction. Sorry!  
  
Chapter 2: The Dreadful News  
  
In the dark, a few street lights were standing alone on the deserted road, enlightening a few late night people, including a hungry Izumi. She was not walking straight and she kept bumping into things. Tears stored behind her eyes blurred her sight as she could not see clearly but as she walked closer to her house, she could hear sirens. She quickened her pace to see what was happening and hoped her family was not in trouble.

Police cars were parked outside the Orimoto's residence as Izumi arrived. Red and blue lights were flashing on the top of the cars, blinding Izumi."Excuse me," Izumi asked a man in uniform, brushing her tears away quickly," but what is happening here? Why are all these police cars parking in front of my house?"The officer ignored her question and instead, he asked, "Do you live in this house?" He was pointing to the Orimoto Residence. Izumi nodded quietly."What's your name?" the officer asked."Izumi Orimoto," Izumi answered, and asked again, "why are police cars parked right in front of my house?"Again, the police didn't answer her question and asked, "Do you know Konoyami and Hikaru Orimoto miss?" (Meeko: I don't know Izumi's parents' names, sorry!)"They're my parents," Izumi answered, somewhat, her face is turning paler."I'm sorry to say this," the officer said kindly," but your parents are hurt badly in a car crash. They're at St. Anne's Hospital right now.""Hurt, badly," Izumi repeated blankly. Her mind was traveling faster than it should and she suddenly felt very dizzy."Miss," the officer said quickly, "are you feeling alright?""I," Izumi said, her eyes not very focusing, "I think I'm okay. Can I see them?""Of course," the officer said, offering her a hand into the vehicle, "jump in and we'll drive you to the hospital.""Thank you," Izumi said gratefully as she hastily stepped in the car.During the car ride, Izumi asked the officer, "How did the car crash happen?""Some witnesses saw that two cars are street racing and your parents' car is some what in the middle lane of the road, "the officer explained," then one of the racing cars decided to go faster so he cut right in front of your parents' car. Your parents' car cannot stop in time so they collided." Izumi didn't say anything. Inside herself, she was praying for her parents' safety.When they reached St Anne's Hospital, Izumi hopped down from the car. The huge white building looked scary in the night, with only a few lights coming from the upper windows where the patients stayed and the lights from the emergency building."Your parents are probably in the emergency room," the officer pointed out to Izumi, pointing to the building next to the hospital."Please, mom, dad, don't leave me," Izumi prayed as she sprinted up the steps into the emergency building. It was pretty busy even in the middle of the night as people were rushing and doctors were hastening to the next patients. Izumi ran to the registration desk and asked for her parents."Excuse me," Izumi panted as she said. The nurse was answering the phone."Can you wait just a sec," the nurse said to the phone. "How may I help you, miss?" the nurse turned to Izumi and asked."I'm looking for my parents, Konoyami and Hikaru Orimoto," Izumi said hurriedly. The nurse checked through some sheets and finally answered," they're still in the emergency room number 3 but you'll have to wait in a chair while the doctors are still trying to cure them." Izumi thanked to the nurse and sit on one of the chairs.She thought about her parents being lifeless, lying on the white bed covered by white stiff sheets. She just couldn't bear the thought and she shivered slightly as she thought about it.Half an hour had passed; no one came out from room number three. Then an hour, still nothing. After an hour and forty minutes, a young man wearing a white doctor's robe came out from the room. There were blood stains on his white shirt. Izumi rushed to him and asked about her parents."How's my mom and dad, are they okay?" Izumi asked quickly. The doctor shook his head and walked away, leaving Izumi stood frozen at the spot."How could that be?" Izumi asked herself, sitting slowly on a chair.After sometime, she made herself stood up and walked out the door. She swaggered through the streets unsteadily, her eyes unfocused. She didn't know how long but when she reached home, she just went straight on the couch and sat there before she fell into an uneasy sleep.

The next day   
  
Loud knocks outside Izumi's house made the first noise of the day. Izumi woke up groggily, trying to remember yesterday's events. Then the knock outside the door woke her up completely. She opened the door.

A middle-aged woman with dark brown curly hair, thin figure, with heavy eye make-up and overly dressed in a red gown stood in front of the door, tapping her high heel shoes impatiently. Behind her were two police officers and one of them was the one that offered Izumi a ride to the hospital."What are you waiting for, girl?" the woman barked, "let us in already." Izumi was unsure of who this woman was so she asked, "who are you?""Did you forget already?" the woman said in a loud voice again, "You stupid girl, I'm your aunt Gayomi.""Aunt Gayomi?" Izumi frowned, trying to remember. At that moment, the women just pushed past Izumi and made her way to the sofa. The two officers just stood politely at the sides."What's happening here?" Izumi asked the officers."She's your aunt, isn't she?" one of them asked."I guess so," Izumi answered unsurely."Well, since your parents had passed, she's your only relative and she's suppose to take care of you," the other officer explained."I don't even want to take care of this stupid kid," Aunt Gayomi said, eyeing Izumi with disgust."I'm not a kid," Izumi shouted. She was starting to get angry."Yes you are," her aunt said, "and a stupid one too!""Shut up!" Izumi yelled. Suddenly came a dangerous silence."What did you say?" Aunt Gayomi asked hazardously."I told you to shut up!" Izumi shouted hotly."Maybe we should leave you two alone to talk about this," the officer said."Yes, maybe you should," Aunt Gayomi turned to the officer. As they both started out the door, the one that helped Izumi turned to Izumi and gave her an encouraging and a sorry kind of smile. Then Aunt Gayomi slammed the door shut.Aunt Gayomi then walked back to the sofa and sat on it pleasantly as Izumi eyed at her."And what are you staring at?" Aunt Gayomi shouted."Nothing," Izumi murmured."What are you staring at?" she asked again."I said nothing!" Izumi shouted."Don't you get smart with me, girl," Aunt Gayomi said dangerously.Izumi didn't answer. Then she saw her aunt's mouth curled into a wicked smile."But since I don't have to deal with you much longer, "she said."What do you mean?" Izumi asked quickly."I mean," Gayomi said, her mouth still smiling but her eyes were cold, "you're not going to be here much longer. You're going to Vancouver, my dear." Then she let out kind of a horrible laugh. The laugh echoed through the empty house."Vancouver?" Izumi said, she couldn't believe her ears."Yes, are you deaf?" her aunt said, "You're going to a boarding school in Vancouver and your flight is tomorrow.""Tomorrow?" Izumi repeated."Jesus!" her aunt said desperately, "are you seriously deaf or what?""You go pack your things right now," Aunt Gayomi said. Izumi didn't say anything and went up to her room. She lye down on her bed and cried. She felt so empty in her heart. First Kouji had broken his promise, then her parents had passed away and now she had to go to a boarding school in Vancouver.Can anything be worst?  
  
Meeko: Phew! Finally done! I know there's no Kouzumi now but I promise you, there'll be some in the next chapter or chapter four. I'm not even sure yet. Ha-ha! 


	3. New school, New Life

Da Capo (From the Beginning)  
  
by Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: I don't own anything about Digimon so do not, I repeat, do not sue me.  
  
Chapter 3: New school, new life  
  
Kouji looked out the window; he could now see that the plane was hovering above a large city with tall buildings and many trees and forests.

"This the captain speaking," the loud speakers said in the plane," the plane is going to land in half an hour or so. Please put your seat belts back on. Thank you."Kouji snapped his seat belt back on and continued to look out the window.Half an hour later, CX 838 landed safely on the runway of Vancouver International Airport. Kouji, following the crowd, went out of the plane and lined up for the officers to check and ask a few questions. As he heaved his heavy suitcase on the ground, he pulled it and walked out of the doorway. On the sides were relatives and friends waiting patiently for their loved ones and Kouji suddenly felt lonely. Not that he had never been but being alone in a foreign country without any one he knew was out of the topic."Kouji Minamoto?" a female voice asked, stopping Kouji."Yea," Kouji answered, wondering who she could be. The woman is middle-aged, nicely dressed in a grey shirt and white skirt and on her feet were a pair of shiny, black high heels. She wore a gentle smile on her face."I'm Ms. Goldsmith and I'm the counselor of grade 12," she explained as they walked out of the airport. The air was fresh and a gentle breeze blew on Kouji's face, making him more awake then ever."How did you know I was here?" Kouji asked politely, wondering how in the world Ms. Goldsmith, a counselor, would know when and where to find a student who came from Japan."Mr. Minamoto phoned us before hand," Ms. Goldsmith said, now they were walking into the darkened parking lot."My father," Kouji said, gritting his teeth under his breath. Fortunately, Ms. Goldsmith was too busy with Kouji's suitcase to hear that.  
  
"Let me help you," Kouji rushed to Ms. Goldsmith as she tried to put the suitcase in to the back of a jet black Land Rover."Thank you," Ms. Goldsmith said and she slid into the driver's seat while Kouji sat beside her. She turned the key and the engine grunted as if it was impatient to get going. She twisted and turned through streets and avenues. Finally, she pulled on to a driveway in front of a huge building. The building was four storeys high; it was way bigger than Kouji's school in Japan and in England.Ms. Goldsmith smiled as Kouji opened his mouth slightly in surprise."Welcome, Kouji Minamoto, to Vancouver International Secondary," Ms. Goldsmith announced and added, "your new school and home. They went inside the hall. Floors were polished over the summer; Kouji could still smell it in the air. Doors were closed on the walls as he walked right behind Ms. Goldsmith and name plates of the teachers and room numbers were stuck on the top of the doors."I'll bring your belonging later back to your dormitory," Ms. Goldsmith said, "and you're going to meet the principal of the school, Mr. Grenwick, right now." They stopped in front of a door. But it was different from other wooden doors. This one was made out of glass, like the ones from office buildings and it said, Mr. Grenwick and underneath that, Principal's Office was stamped across the door. Ms. Goldsmith knocked on the door three times."Come in," a deep voice answered. Ms. Goldsmith opened the door and both she and Kouji stepped inside. On the chair was an elderly man with white beard and sharp eyes. Kouji at once thought that Mr. Grenwick was a principal he didn't want to mess with."Kouji Minamoto?" Mr. Grenwick asked, as he picked up his registration papers. Kouji nodded respectfully."Your father and I are old friends," Mr. Grenwick said. Kouji went rigid for a second then relax. "I should have known," Kouji thought."But it doesn't mean that I'm going to go easy on you if you get into trouble," Mr. Grenwick said in serious tone, "you got me?" Kouji nodded once again. At least Mr. Grenwick didn't seem to be some of those teachers who would treat unfairly to students they know."Good. You may go," Mr. Grenwick said, "Ms. Goldsmith, please bring Mr. Minamoto to his room." Ms. Goldsmith nodded once and led Kouji out again. Ms. Goldsmith closed the door behind her and walked out of the school building."You don't actually live in the school building," Ms. Goldsmith explained as they walked along the street, "you live in dormitory and here it is." They stopped in front of a small two storey stone building."Each grade shared two buildings and the girls dorms are just right across," Ms. Goldsmith said, pointing at some of the similar buildings on the other side of the deserted street. They went up to the second floor using an elevator, since they had a suitcase with them and walked until they reached the middle of the hallway."Room 204," Ms. Goldsmith read from a piece of paper, "I believe this is your room. You're sharing the room with another student, but I'm not sure who it is yet." Ms. Goldsmith handed him the key and left him alone as she walked down the stairs."Oh," Ms. Goldsmith turned around and said, "and I'll give you your timetable and planner tomorrow morning. School will start the day after tomorrow." Kouji thanked her and used the key to unlock the door. He twisted the doorknob and pushed it open.Two beds were standing in the room, one on the left and the other on the right. The left side bed was already occupied with some clothes, so Kouji put his back pack on the other bed. Two desks were positioned in the middle and so were the two chairs. A closet sat against the wall and a window was between the two beds. Kouji looked out the window but all he saw was a deserted street without any sign of any living creatures. Suddenly the door creaked and in come a brown, spiky haired boy. The boy took no notice of Kouji what so ever or maybe he didn't see Kouji. What ever the reason was, the boy just walked past Kouji to his bed and lied down. But Kouji remembered him somehow, although he didn't know where but he was sure the boy looked familiar to him.

Then it struck him!

"Ryo Akiyama!" (Meeko: Well, guys. What are the chances?)"That's my name all right," the boy replied lazily. Then he unexpectedly sat up straight."Aren't you Kouji Minamoto?" Ryo asked, who was frowning, trying to remember."Yup," Kouji answered."What are you doing here?" Ryo asked, "Didn't you went to England to study in that music school or something?""I did," Kouji said, "but my father makes me come here to study my last year of my high school.""Forced, huh?" Ryo asked in a care free tone, and lied back on his bed again."Yea," Kouji answered again, looking up at the ceiling."Sad," Ryo stated, "but no choice. Just try to enjoy it anyways. After all, it is our last year of high school.""But I can't enjoy it," Kouji said, suddenly remembering Izumi and her warm smile, "not without Izumi.""Who's Izumi?" Ryo asked with a sudden interest."My uh. . ." Kouji hesitated."Girlfriend," Ryo suggested, grinning. Kouji nodded."Is she that cute blond from the party two years ago?" Ryo asked."Yea," Kouji said, "you sure have a good memory.""I usually remember those who are extraordinary beauties," Ryo said, still grinning. Kouji didn't say anything."But I thought she was another guy's girlfriend," Ryo inquired, "that boy with the same dark blue hair as you do but only shorter." Could it be? Kouji asked himself in his mind."I think his name was Kouichi," Ryo continued."He's my brother," Kouji said quietly."Your brother," Ryo said slowly, "that explain why he has that same colored hair and eyes. But that doesn't explain why his girlfriend is also your girlfriend.""She isn't," Kouji said simply."What do you mean?" Ryo wanted to know."She isn't Kouichi's girlfriend then and she isn't my girlfriend now," Kouji said quietly, as if he was trying to make himself believe that last part. "I haven't talk to her in two years.""Sad," Ryo stated again. The two boys fell silent. Kouji glanced around the room and his eyes fell on to a guitar beside Ryo's bed side. It was an electric blue one with wires attached to a speaker."You play guitar?" Kouji asked."Yup," Ryo answered, "only for interest though. My full time job is the piano, since my mom hates the sounds of electric guitar.""Can I see it?" Kouji asked. Ryo handed him the guitar with care. Kouji ran his fingers over the strings and played a few chords."I didn't know you can play a guitar," Ryo said, impressed."I learned it last year in England for half a year," Kouji said, continued to press chords, "and I practically love it.""Say," Ryo said, glancing at his watch, "I have to get something at the mall. You want to come with me?""Sure," Kouji shrugged and got up."Who know?" Ryo said and continued," maybe you can get yourself a guitar there.""That's just what I had in mind."  
  
Meeko: There! Chapter 3 finished finally! I know . . . no Kouzumi again . . . it's sad but you guys will have to wait, ok? 


	4. An Unexpected Reunion

Da Capo (From the Beginning)

-Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: Hi, I'm sorry I didn't update for so long, the homework load is huge and I mean it! Anyways, just to answer someone's question, the title: Da Capo means well, it means, from the beginning, just as it had said beside it. And I'll say this again: Digimon doesn't belong to me, so lawyers, just get away from me!! I only own Ryuko Ishida and Ellison Black. Oh and there's going to be a little swearing here and there.  
  
Chapter 4: An Unexpected Reunion  
  
"Well, Izumi, this is your room," Ms. Goldsmith said to the blond hair girl kindly, leading her into the room.

"Thank you," Izumi said, smiling weakly. Ms. Goldsmith closed the door behind her and Izumi put her things down and threw herself on the bed. She was really tired from the long journey and remembering Kouji in the silence; she couldn't help but wondered what Kouji was doing at this very moment. Would he be hanging out with another girl in England? Or would he be just thinking about her just as what she was doing right now?

Izumi lied on her back and stared at the ceiling. Maybe he had decided to forget about her two years ago, Izumi thought to herself dully. Just as she was still pondering, the doorknob was turned and in came a girl.

"Hey," the girl greeted Izumi brightly, giving her a warm smile, "you must be a new student." Izumi nodded shyly. The girl is about Izumi's height, she had hazel colored hair which she tied them in two French braids, chocolate brown eyes which shined brightly through the excitement of a new room mate and she was wearing a yellow short sleeve t-shirt matched with a pair of faded blue jeans."I'm Ellison Black," the girl introduced herself, "just call me Elli.""Hi, Elli," Izumi greeted her, "I'm Izumi Orimoto. It's nice to meet you.""Same here," Elli replied with a smile, "you know, it's pretty rare that parents would sent their kids to some foreign school at their last year in high school." At the mention of her parents, Izumi answered miserably, "It's not my parents.""But," Elli was confused."My parents died in a car crash three days ago," Izumi explained with tint of tears in her eyes."Oh," Elli said, dropping her smile," I'm sorry.""That's ok," Izumi said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand."Do you have a boyfriend?" Elli asked brightly, trying to change the topic. But instead, it back fired."Used to," Izumi replied simply."What happened?" Elli asked kindly."He left for England to study," Izumi explained as plainly as she could, "he promised he'll come back. But he didn't." And once again, her emerald eyes were soaked in tears. Elli didn't know what to do. It seemed that everything that she said made her new room mate cry."He promised," Izumi repeated, tears were dropping on her bed spread.  
  
"Come on," Elli said, trying to comfort her, patting her back," I'll take you to a place where you'll see lots of guys better than he is." Izumi didn't really feel like going but she didn't want to disappoint Elli so she decided to check out the place.  
  
Meanwhile. . ."Kouji," a voice called out," plug that red wire in the hole on the speaker. Kouji did as he was told and said, "Thanks, Ryo. What would I do with this guitar without your professional help?""No problem," Ryo said, grinning, as he was trying to plug his own electric keyboard in the gym."Are you sure we can use the gym as our practice room?" Kouji asked uncertainly."Sure," Ryo answered, "Besides, in ten minutes, I'll bet there'll be at least 20 people in here.""How come?" Kouji asked."Because," Ryo said, still trying to figure which wire he should plug," Screw this wire. Anyways, because there are at least 10 bands in this school.""Wow," Kouji exclaimed," I'm impressed.""Don't be," Ryo said, finally plugged the right wire, "believe me, ninety percent of them are amateurs." He stood up and sat on the stool and started to play and adjust the sounds.The oak doors opened and in came three teenaged boys and one girl. One of the boys who had flaming red hair wrapped his arm around the girl, who had overly make-up on her face. The other two guys were like body guards; they were big and muscular and were standing on each side of the pair."Well, well, well," the flaming red haired boy said, smirking, "if it isn't the little piano player Ryo Akiyama and his little friend." His girl friend laughed in a high note."And what do you want?" Kouji said roughly, giving the group a cold stare."Who are you?" the red head asked, still smirking as if Kouji was a joke."It's none of your fucking business," Kouji snapped, "is it?""Akiyama," the boy addressed Ryo," you should teach your friend here to have some manners.""Why you. . ." Kouji was ready to pound on him but Ryo stopped him and whispered," don't." Kouji stopped."Just leave us alone, Joshua," Ryo retorted."Fine," Joshua replied, turning to go but he stopped and said," By the way, are you going to Battle of the Bands?" He was asking Ryo."Of course I am," Ryo replied cooly."Ha," Joshua laughed out loud, "then prepared to lose, kid." With that, he and his group walked to another area to plug up their instruments, laughing on their way."Who are they?" Kouji asked, watching Joshua's group distastefully."Joshua Li, that's the red head," Ryo explained, "Chris Johnson and Ian Nishikawa are his so call body guards and the bitch Joshua is with is Jocelyn Clarkson.""Is she really a bitch?" Kouji asked, joking."Sure she is," Ryo said and explained in disgust," she sleeps with every guy she could find in school and even on the street." Kouji was speechless for a second then he said slowly, "She didn't. . .you didn't. . .""Of course I didn't," Ryo exclaimed, "Jesus, Kouji! Do you think I'm that kind of person?" He pretended to sound hurt."She's not exactly what I called pretty either," Ryo said, shaking his head in revulsion and continued," she looks more like an over make up Barbie doll than an actual person." Kouji had to agree to that."But what is that Battle of the Bands Joshua was talking about?" Kouji asked."It's a competition between bands," Ryo told Kouji," it happens every year but. . ." He hesitated."But what?" Kouji wanted to know."We need three or more people to enter the competition," Ryo said at last. The boys were silent for some moments."Oh well, "Ryo shrugged his care-free shrug," we can worry about that later. Right now, let's rock this place!"

Back to Izumi and Elli. . .  
  
"Where are you taking me?" Izumi wanted to know.

"Just come with me," Elli said, pulling Izumi with her. But as Izumi was being pulled, she bumped into a girl."Sorry," Izumi apologized to the girl. She didn't say anything but Elli's smile grew wider."Ryuko!" Elli exclaimed."Hey, Elli," the girl replied quite calmly. She had long, jet black hair that she tied in a high pony tail, a pair of cold, stormy grey eyes and really pale skin. She was wearing a black top with a skull in the middle, a pair of black flare jeans and white runners."Izumi, this is Ryuko Ishida," Elli introduced, "and Ryuko, this is Izumi Orimoto, my new room mate.""Hi," Izumi said to Ryuko. But Ryuko just merely nodded."Where are you guys going?" Ryuko asked Elli."Checking out some guys in the gym," Elli said, grinning, "Coming?" Ryuko laughed out bitterly and said, "Sure." The girls walk down the corridor and as they drew near the gym, they could hear people talking, guitar chords slamming and drums throbbing. Elli reached for the handle of the doors and pushed it open. What Izumi saw next made her almost faint.About thirty people were playing electric instruments at the same time, each in a little group of their own. The noises were unbearable. The three girls walked through the people, covering their ears helplessly. They walked through the little groups of people, with Elli leading the two towards the end of the gym."Ryo Akiyama!" Elli yelled, although other noises might have already blocked her voice so she yelled louder, running towards her friend."Akiyama!" Elli bellowed again and this time, Ryo heard someone calling his name and looked up."Hey, Elli," Ryo called back, waving his hands in an overly excited way (if you know what I mean)."What's up?" Ryo asked loudly so that Elli could hear him better, and at the same time wrapping his arms around Elli's shoulders with exaggeration. Izumi wondered if they were a couple."Can you get your hands off me already?" Elli asked, giggling, "Someone might get the wrong idea." Ryo smiled mischievously but obediently put his hand back down."Who might get the wrong idea?" Ryo asked, grinning down at Elli. Then he spotted Izumi and Ryuko, "and who are these two beauties?" During this entire introduction, Kouji was bending his head down, trying to fix the wires.  
"Wait," Ryo said, remembering, "I know you." He was looking at Izumi. "You're Izumi Orimoto!" Izumi nodded and gave him a smile.  
"I remember you too," Izumi said, "you're the guy in the party two years ago." Ryo was shocked to know that she still remembered who he was.  
Then Ryo turned his gaze on the other girl. She looked so different from the rest of them out there: cold, so lonely, such gorgeous features. . .

Ryo walked towards Ryuko and she was eyeing him suspiciously. She suddenly felt a hand groping her back side. . . "Pervert!" she screamed, her face suddenly turned a dark crimson. Ryuko then turned around and hit Ryo on to the ground.

"Ow. . ." Ryo wined, massaging his face where Ryuko had slapped him."Serves you right, pervert," Ryuko muttered, looking down on the floor, her cheeks still burning."When will you ever learn, my dear friend?" Elli patted Ryo's shoulder in pretend sober. Izumi just giggled nervously. "Hey," Elli said, suddenly remembered something, "where is your friend, Kouji?" (Meeko: I know, I know. You're wondering how Elli know Kouji, right? Well, I decided to skip some parts and she had already met Kouji the day before.)"Kouji?" Izumi's heart was beating fast. How could it be? No, no, it was probably a different person. Yes, that must be it! Izumi shook her head to get all her thought out of herself."He's over there," Ryo said, still with one hand on his face and the other pointing at a blue-haired figure. Elli walked over to Kouji and slapped him on the shoulders."Hey, Kouji," Elli said cheerfully."Oh, hi Ellison," Kouji said, his head snapped back up from the guitar, smiling a little."I want to introduce you to someone," Elli said, pulling him towards the group, "and by the way, can you stop calling me Ellison? It really bugs me.""Sure, I'll try," Kouji grinned but he stopped his grin right in the air when he caught a glimpse who he was going to meet. Standing right in front of him was Izumi, still unchanged, with the golden blond hair, the smile, the beautiful sea green eyes. . .Izumi, who at the moment, was staring in front of her, her heart had stopped beating all together and was disbelieved. Is this a dream? She asked herself. Standing there tall and straight was the boy she was thinking about all the time, the boy she had dreamt to meet after two years of depart.Their eyes had locked to each other's and Izumi was the first to recover from the shock and break the eye contact. Izumi looked down at the floor, murmured something about having a headache and tried to head out the gym door. The others were puzzled at Izumi's actions, only Ryo and Kouji understood. Kouji put down his guitar quickly and ran out."Izumi," Kouji shouted, pushing through the crowds. Either she couldn't hear him from all the racket in the gym or she just decided to ignore him, Izumi continued her way towards the door."Izumi, wait," Kouji shouted his voice hoarse and he had headed out the door, still following Izumi."Izumi," Kouji repeated as he caught up with her in the hallway, which at the moment was empty. Kouji took Izumi's wrist and force her to turn around to face him."Listen to me," Kouji said, roughly, still grabbing onto her wrist as she tried to wriggle out of the way. "Just hear me out!" Kouji shouted and Izumi froze at the spot.Kouji's expression softened as he loosened his grab on Izumi and tilted her chin up towards him. Izumi looked into his dark blue eyes with confusion and, and fear. . . Kouji sensed that and was puzzled why she suddenly felt confused and scared towards him.  
  
Meeko: Yup, that's the chapter! See? I told you I'm going to do Kouzumi on chapter four! Ha! 


	5. Join in the Band!

Da Capo (From the Beginning)

-Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: Hey people, I'm back! Digimon doesn't belong to me, ok? I only own the plot, Ryuko Ishida and Ellison Black so do not sue me!  
  
Chapter 5:  
  
Flashback from last chapter  
  
Kouji's expression softened as he loosened his grab on Izumi and tilted her chin up towards him. Izumi looked into his dark blue eyes with confusion and, and fear. . . Kouji sensed that and was puzzled why she suddenly felt confused and scared towards him.  
  
End of flashback  
  
"Let go of me," Izumi said, breaking the silence. Kouji didn't move.

"Just let go of me, ok?" Izumi said, taking her hand that Kouji was grasping on. She looked away from Kouji and stayed silent."Are you scared?" Kouji suddenly asked."What?" Izumi was confused."Are you scared of seeing me again?" Kouji asked again."Why would you think that?" Izumi asked him back, looking down at the floor."I've known you too well," Kouji replied."Well," Izumi said, looking back up to him coldly, "maybe you don't know me as well as you think you did." She began to turn around and walk away. But Kouji caught up with Izumi and took her hand once again."Wait," Kouji said, "you can't leave without explaining.""What am I suppose to say?" Izumi asked, still looking away from those blue eyes."Why are you running away from me?" Kouji asked in a hurt voice."I'm not," she replied."Yes you are," Kouji pushed on further, "I know you are.""What? Are you going to be silent through out the whole thing?" Kouji asked, he had tightened the grip on Izumi's wrist without knowing and it was hurting her. Still, Izumi didn't say anything."Answer me," Kouji shouted, shaking her roughly, causing a tear to fall from her eyes and on to Kouji's arm. He quickly realized what he was doing and let go of her hand. Izumi turned away shakily and slowly making her way back to her dormitory. Kouji just watched her quietly until she was gone.It was very quiet after Izumi had gone; quiet just like a grave yard, Kouji thought.  
  
==  
  
Back in the gym, the whole room had grown quiet as the teacher of the music department came out, holding a microphone."Attention, students," he bellowed."Who's he?" Kouji asked quietly."Head of music department of this school, Mr. Sawyer," Elli whispered back."As you might all know," Mr. Sawyer said, looking around at the students, "there's going to be Battle of the Bands around Christmas time." The student murmured in excitement."Quiet please." The whole gym grew silent again."All participating bands must have at least 3 or more people," Mr. Sawyer explained, "for the forms you have to fill in for this, please come and see me later. Thank you." And the whole gym grew back to noisy."Now what?" Kouji asked, glancing at Ryo with worry "we only have two person: you and me.""Don't worry, my friend, "Ryo said. Then he turned to Elli and Ryuko."Anyone knows how to play drums or base or whatever?" Ryo asked with hope."You know me," Elli said, shrugging, "I'm not a music person.""Oh yeah," Ryo remembered, "I forgot." Then he looked over at Ryuko, who was glinting a faint blush on her cheeks."What about you, Ryuko?" Ryo asked."I. . ." Ryuko stuttered, "I can . . . err . . . sort of play drums." Wait, why am I stuttering? Ryuko asked herself. Is it because . . .?"Great," Ryo exclaimed, "you can be our drummer!""Huh?" Ryuko was surprised, "but. . .""But what?" Ryo wanted to know, "wait a minute, you are still mad about me touching you, isn't it?""Well," Ryuko replied matter-of-factly, "yea, of course I'm mad, anybody would have too. But that's not the point.""Then what is it?" Elli asked. Ryuko was silent for a minute, with everyone looking at her in suspense."Never mind," Ryuko shook her head, "I'll join.""All right!" Ryo shouted joyfully and turned to Ryuko, "thanks for joining, Ryuko, I really mean it." Ryuko blushed lightly and was about to say something when she felt a hand on her back side again."PERVERT!" SLAP!Ryo fell on the ground, unconscious."Well," Elli said, sweat dropping, "let's go to Mr. Sawyer and get you three sign up." Looking down at the unconscious Ryo, she added, "but, you two will have to heave him with you on the way." Both of them nodded and were turning to go."Kouji, wait," Elli called out."Yea?" Kouji inquired, turning around."What happened to Izumi?" Elli wanted to know."Err..." Kouji was thinking fast, "she said she have to go to erm......do some homework or something." He quickly turned and heaved the unconscious Ryo with Ryuko's help."Huh?" now Elli was confused, "what homework? We haven't even start school yet!" She left with a clouded mind.  
  
===  
  
Izumi walked quickly back to her room and lye on her bed to think."Am I really scared about seeing Kouji?" Izumi wondered out loud. She listened to the silence and walked towards the mirror on the dresser. She stared at it really long and the reflection shook her head back at her.  
  
Meeko: Well! That's it! I guess you guys will be finally happy that I've FINALLY finished this chapter...although it IS short and crappy. But hey! It's a step, right? 


	6. First Morning

Da Capo (From the Beginning) -Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: [sigh] Feeling so crappy these days because of stuff happening and all. But. . . I'll still update because summer is here!!! Yea! Chapter 6: First Morning

"Today is the day," Izumi thought in her bed, as sunlight brightened up the room on a Monday morning. It was the first day of school and a brand new day for Izumi for she was excited to go to her classes. . .in a way.

  
She walked past the still sleeping Elli and into the washroom to freshen up herself. She put on her school uniform, which consisted of a white shirt, a navy blue tie and a navy blue skirt to match. With extra care, she tipped toed out of the room. She wanted sometime by herself in the quietness before her first day of school start. And before she saw Kouji again.

She strode down the squeaky stairs and she found herself facing a totally deserted street."Well, at least no one is going to interrupt my thoughts," Izumi thought to herself as she strolled down the empty sidewalk. Occasionally, a car would run by and Izumi could not care less."I cannot just ignore Kouji through out the whole year," Izumi brought her thoughts back to Kouji, "it's not even possible."

"But maybe I can stop thinking about him," Izumi told herself, "and treat him as a friend. . . or something." But the more she thought about it, the more it didn't make sense.

"I can't do it," Izumi thought, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. She couldn't convince herself to just treat Kouji as a normal friend, just as a friend. She tried to forget about him, but she couldn't do it. She had over three years to do it but she failed to do so.Yet, now that she had thought about it, she could've had a chance to get back together with Kouji before he headed towards to England. But she lost her only chance. Her only chance to be together with the one she loved and she regretted that. It seemed that it was too late now.Walking down the sidewalk, the school bell unexpectedly rang and in response, Izumi ran back to her dormitory, thinking she was late with the whole matter still stuck in her brain. But she forgot that it was only the first bell, meaning that the purpose was to wake up the students.

At the boy's dorm. . .

"Yo, man, wake up," Kouji shouted to his roommate, whom was still half asleep on the bed with only five minutes to wash up before breakfast. It was easy for Kouji to wake up, however, because he practically did not sleep for the whole night. The shock of meeting Izumi again had passed away and now, the only thing that troubled Kouji was the fact that Izumi was trying to run away from him. He still couldn't figure out why Izumi wanted to get away from him though, that's what he was thinking about the whole night, unable to sleep. But that problem had to wait until later. Right now, he even had trouble calling his roommate up. Decided to attempt one last time, Kouji picked up his own pillow and hit the bundle on the bed, which was supposedly Ryo. With that done, he ran down the stairs to the cafeteria for breakfast, only that he had no idea where it was.

But that problem was solved almost immediately as numerous of boys and girls from different dorms up and down the avenue walked up to a building quickly. Kouji followed the crowd and found himself in the cafeteria, which other students called the dining room. In a way it was true because they ate three meals a day in this building.

Lining up to get his food, Kouji heard some commotion from behind the line. He looked back and saw, with amusement, Ryo fighting his way towards him.

"Good morning," Ryo announced as he placed himself behind Kouji, despite of the other student's protests."Well, aren't you early today?" Kouji instead, replied, while picking up a carton of milk and two pieces of toasts.Ryo decided to ignore his friend's sarcastic remark and picked up a glass of grapefruit juice and a waffle to put on his plate. They sat themselves in the grade twelve table where the other grade twelve students were enjoying their food.

"So," Ryo started between mouthfuls of waffle, "did you sleep well last night?"

"I swear to God," Kouji stated, drinking his milk, "you sound like my mother."

"I hope that wasn't an insult," Ryo cocked his eyebrow.

"No, it was a compliment," Kouji replied sarcastically.

"Gee, thanks," Ryo answered, "the jetlag got you, didn't it? Stormy mood. . ." He examined Kouji's expression.

"I guess," Kouji didn't have the mood to argue as he continued to gulp down his breakfast.

"Or maybe it was girlfriend problems," Ryo suggested, still chewing his waffles. Kouji turned his head so abruptly it almost broke his neck. He knew he made too big of an action and pretended to return to his food, but Ryo knew something was wrong. But just as he was about to ask, someone unexpected came to their sights, to Ryo's delight.

"Ryuko," Ryo called out. Ryuko turned and to her horror, saw Ryo waving at her in a frantic way of his.

"Erm. . ." Ryuko was embarrassed to be called out in the public, especially by Ryo the perv," hi." She managed to say."Hi," Ryo said cheerfully, "lovely day." Kouji, sitting beside Ryo, rolled his eyes."Oh shit," following his nature, we could now see that Ryo was glancing down to God-knows-where, "that skirt on Ryuko simply kills me." Ryo found himself thinking. Ryuko, somehow sensing that Ryo was doing you- know-what, blushed lightly and started to walk away. But too late, Ryo's uncontrollable urge had already took actions and the result, you guessed it."Stupid bastard," Kouji addressed to Ryo," if you don't treat her nicely and respect her, she's never going to fall for you."

"Ryuko is so going to be mine," Ryo stated simply, finishing his waffle and was now starting on his grapefruit juice.

"Yea, keep dreaming," Kouji laughed.

"You'll see," Ryo added persuasively and he drank his juice.

"Fuck," Ryo mutter out one second later after the juice went down his throat. He almost spit the whole mouthful out again with a few drops down his chin.

Kouji lifted his eyebrows.

"Those grapefruit juice was so fucking sour," Ryo spitted out, screwing up his face.

Meeko: I know that was a really dumb ending for this chapter but it's midnight, ladies and gentlemen and I've finally finished chapter six, so you people must be happy, right? [hopeful]


	7. Vengeance

Da Capo (From the Beginning)  
  
-by Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: Hey hey! Nothing much to say except, yes, here we go again: Digimon does not belong to me although I wish I do. But then again, who wouldn't?  
  
Chapter 7: Vengeance  
  
"Can anyone tell me about the symbol of the Museum of Natural History in the story?" a grey-haired women asked, standing in front of a huge classroom with the morning lights leaking in from the windows.  
  
The class was silent; it seemed that none of them knew the answer, or they just didn't want to answer, or they weren't even listening. Sitting right at the back of the room was Kouji, who was playing around with his mechanical pencil on his desk and obviously not paying attention to the whole lecture on Catcher in the Rye, a novel they had start reading a few days ago.  
  
"Ms. Orimoto," the teacher called out, startling a spaced out Izumi, who was, at the moment, staring out at the window with a dreamy look on her face. Kouji turned at the call of Izumi's name. "Would you be so kindly as to answer my question?"  
  
The whole class, as if on cue, stifled on giggles. There had been rumors on the grade twelve English literature teacher, Mrs. Pettigrew, always start her question with "would you be so kindly" whenever a student was not paying attention in class and the next thing the student know, he or she would get kicked out of class for that lesson.  
  
"Excuse me, Mrs. Pettigrew," Izumi smiled weakly, "do you mind repeating the question again?" But that was not a good question to ask, especially with someone like Mrs. Pettigrew, who looked like she might breathe fire if her students weren't paying attention in class.  
  
"Actually, Ms. Orimoto," Mrs. Pettigrew started, her lips thinned," I do mind repeating the question. So would you please kindly step out of my classroom, since you're not listening to me anyway?" Shrugging, Izumi walked out the door slowly, with pairs of eyes following her, including Kouji's.  
  
"I wonder what she was thinking about," Kouji was worried about her, "it's not like her to not pay attention in a class, especially English."  
  
Kouji smiled at the last comment as he remembered his life back in Tokyo, when Izumi tried to explain some poetry by a guy called Alfred Lord Tennyson. He could still recall Izumi's desperate, yet strong voice as she recited The Lady of Shalott for him.  
  
Kouji was surprised that he could still remember the poem because most of the times, he would not pay attention to things like that. He got other things to worry about. But the thought of A.L. Tennyson brought his thoughts back to Izumi; his heart throbbed with the painful memories of their break up and their union in this school, when Izumi's usual trustful eyes turned to fear, like a scared kitten, mistrustful to anyone who tried to come near.  
  
"Mr. Minamoto, please answer the question," a voice interrupted his thoughts.  
  
"Huh?" Kouji looked around and saw people around him looking straight at him. He had no idea what the heck the teacher just said; he looked around uneasily, then back on his desk. This was the last straw for Mrs. Pettigrew.  
  
"That's it!" Mrs. Pettigrew threw down her novel in frustration, staggering a few students at the front. "Since no one wants to discuss, then why don't you all just do a composition discussing the symbols of the novel to be handed in by the day after tomorrow!" Students started to protest but the teacher raise up her hand to silence them.  
  
"One more thing," Mrs. Pettigrew said, "you-" She pointed at Kouji, "get out of my classroom before I go crazy." She slumped down on her chair.  
  
"What the hell is her problem anyway?" Kouji thought as he walked out the door as well, leaving the class blabbering with complaints. Kouji closed the door behind him and found himself looking straight into a certain person's emerald eyes.  
  
"Izumi," Kouji whispered, almost afraid that the others would hear him. Izumi turned away, but she stayed at the same spot. She wanted to hear Kouji out before she blurted out what she wanted to say.  
  
"Izumi, I-" Kouji stopped dead. He suddenly could not find any words. No words could describe his feeling of wanting Izumi back in his life; or maybe it was just he couldn't think of any words to describe his desire. Which ever the reason was, Kouji stopped at where he was and sighed.  
  
Before she lost her guts, Izumi turned around and looked at Kouji coldly, "Kouji Minamoto-"  
  
"Oh God," Kouji whimpered, "her voice, so cold." Definitely not a good sign and he was right. What Izumi said in the next few seconds didn't seem real to Kouji's ears.  
  
"You and I-" Izumi swallowed hard," we are officially over!"  
  
"What, what do you mean?" Kouji managed to say, though rather difficult.  
  
"What I mean," Izumi replied, trying to stop tears forming around her eye brims, "is that I stopped thinking about you a long time ago and I want to keep it that way."  
  
"She lied," Kouji's first thought flashed in his brain, "she must be lying."  
  
"And no," Izumi said, as if she was reading through Kouji's mind, "I'm not lying."  
  
"She must be lying!" Kouji's brain yelled. "You're lying, Izumi!" Shaking her head slowly from side to side, Izumi turned away again, this time her fist was held hard at her sides. It was too painful to see this, to see Kouji's hurt expression as he tried to digest the reality.  
  
"I know this is hard for you," Izumi thought as she sniffed back the tears, "this is hard for me as well, and I hope you know that." She didn't say anything to Kouji after that; Izumi turned and left without a word into the empty corridor.  
  
Just then, the bell rang for the lesson to end. Doors were opened and students from different classes rushed out to their next lessons. Kouji stared at the direction that Izumi had gone with helplessness filled his whole body. He returned to the classroom, collected his bag and books and ignoring Mrs. Pettigrew ungrateful glare, he followed his fellow classmates out of the classroom.  
  
Skimming his schedule, Kouji saw with relief that he had music for next class. He hurried his pace up the stairs and fleet into the classroom just as the bell rang off.  
  
"Just in time, my friend," Ryo muttered as Kouji sat down beside him. Mr. Sawyer, their music teacher, stepped into the classroom with a kind of mysterious smile on his young face.  
  
"I wonder what Sawyer is thinking," Ryo said quietly as the teacher took his stand in front of the class. Inside the music room, a gleaming, black grand piano stood in a corner with a huge book case locating on the opposite side of the room where hundreds of music history books and sheet music neatly stacked. At the back of the room were posters of famous composers and musicians, where as at the front of the room was a white board with words like: Theory Grade 2 page 12 - 15 due Monday.  
  
Kouji glimpsed around and saw that they were not the only ones that notice something was different about Mr. Sawyer.  
  
"All right class," Mr. Sawyer's energetic voice rang out and everyone instantly fell quiet, "first of all, I would like to present a new student who transferred just today because he's really interested in music so please welcome Kouichi Kimura to this class." At the call of his name, Kouichi stepped in and the first person he saw was- Kouji! What is he doing here? Before Kouichi got over the shock, Mr. Sawyer started again.  
  
"Starting from today till the date of the Battle of the Bands, which by the way is December 24th, participating bands can use this time to practice their songs in the small gym." Many people whooped in excitement; many of them had been worrying about not having enough time to practice because of the upcoming homework and exams.  
  
Kouji stared in disbelieve at his twin brother and a question sparked in his mind, "what is he doing here?"  
  
"People, keep it down," Mr. Sawyer raise up his hands to silent the animated students, "as for people who are not in bands, I'll lead you in choir for singing at the Christmas assembly."  
  
"Now," Mr. Sawyer tried to get the attention back, "I'll give you fifteen minutes to go to your dorm and get your instruments. Meet me in the small gym after you gather your things." Students rushed out into the street to get their equipments, including Kouji, Ryo and Ryuko, who fortunately was also in the same class.  
  
"So," Ryo said, as he and Kouji ran up the stairs to their room, "how's your first lesson of the day?"  
  
"Next question," Kouji panted as he tore the door open. He did not want to drive his mind back to the conversation he had with Izumi just a few minutes ago and the swift reunion with his brother.  
  
"What's wrong with you, man?" Ryo asked, picking up some wires and his keyboard, but he abandoned his question when he noticed something.  
  
"Oh shit," Ryo swore, putting down his stuff.  
  
"What is it now?" Kouji asked, turning around and saw what the problem was. There were three speakers waiting to be picked up, but since Ryo had to take his keyboard in two hands with the wires on top, and Kouji only had one hand to pick one up because he still had his guitar in the other hand, that left two speakers left and there was no way they could pick anymore up.  
  
"Now what?" Ryo asked, frowning as if trying to think of a way, "there are only ten minutes left and you know Sawyer, he doesn't like people coming in late." He selected a few sheets of music from songs he wanted to try out during practice.  
  
"You're asking me?" Kouji said, fumbling with one speaker at the moment.  
  
"Need help?" a voice popped in from behind. They turned around and to their relief they saw Ryuko standing at the doorway with her drumsticks in one hand. But one second later, Ryo asked, eyeing Ryuko, "you're not supposed to be here, this is a boy's dorm!"  
  
"Damn right this is a boy's dorm," Ryuko looked around the messy room with repulsion, "and I'll take it that's your bed." She pointed at the extra messy one with clothes flung on it unfolded and bed sheet unmade.  
  
"Yup," Ryo nodded cheerfully, as in Ryuko was complimenting him, "so, you wanna give it a try." Ryo smirked and Kouji sighed.  
  
"Get your filthy mind out of the gutter, Ryo Akiyama," Ryuko said disgustedly as she stuck her drumsticks at the back of her skirt and heaved up the two speakers on the ground.  
  
"Come on," Ryuko walked out the door with Kouji behind her, "stop day dreaming and get going or we'll be late and it'll be your entire fault, Akiyama." She rushed down the stairs leaving the two boys walking just as quickly behind.  
  
"I'm telling you," Ryo now said, following at a quick pace, "Ryuko is so in love with me."  
  
"What makes you think that?" Kouji asked, glad that the conversation had turned to Ryo instead of himself.  
  
"Can't you just feel the heat she's giving me?" Ryo asked, disbelieved.  
  
"Yea, sure," Kouji replied, rolling his eyes as he strolled down the hallway, "angry heat."  
  
"And the way she pronounced my whole name," Ryo added dreamily. Kouji never saw this side of Ryo before; the side of Ryo being so interested in just this one girl. He guessed there was always a first time for everything. They reached the small gym with one minute to spare and they spread their things on the floor.  
  
Other groups had already begun to plug up the wires to their instruments and speakers and Kouji and Ryo hurried to plug up theirs as well. Ryuko, on the other hand, was looking over the sheets that Ryo had taken with him.  
  
"So, which songs do you guys want to play for the competition?" Ryuko asked as she continued to study the sheets.  
  
"You know what," Kouji thought of something, "let's just choose a song so that we can practice together to match each other. Then we can start on a song for the Battle."  
  
"Good idea," Ryuko agreed, then looked over at Ryo, "because I don't think I can match his pace." She jabbed her finger at Ryo distastefully. Kouji laughed silently, feeling a little sorry for his friend.  
  
The three went through all the songs that Ryo had and they had come up with one song they all agreed on trying first: Lonely Again.  
  
"How ironic," Kouji thought bitterly, as he stood in his position, getting ready to hit it. But Kouji couldn't help but start thinking about Izumi again, how she coldly talk to him in the deserted hallway.  
  
"Kouji, hello? Anyone home?" Ryo waved his hand in front of Kouji's face.  
  
"Sorry, just zoomed out for a second," Kouji grinned sheepishly and he paced himself again. But something interrupted them just as Ryuko started to beat the drums.  
  
"What do you want?" Ryuko snapped as she saw who was approaching.  
  
"Stay out of this, you little bitch," Jocelyn Clarkson said with her smooth voice.  
  
"Look who's talking here," Ryuko walked up to Jocelyn, her fists clenched at the sides. Her stormy eyes burned with the desire to hit her. Ryo pulled back Ryuko before she did something that would get her kicked out of school.  
  
"How may I help you?" Kouji asked, stepping in front of Ryuko to face Jocelyn calmly.  
  
"Oh, you're going to help me alright," Jocelyn said, smiling. Her smile made Kouji thought of a grin from a wolf ready to attack. "I just want to join your band, that's all."  
  
"I thought you were with Joshua Li," Ryo said, still restraining Ryuko.  
  
"Puh-lease," Jocelyn closed her eyes, revealing dark eye shadow covering her eyelids. Kouji wondered if girls were allowed to put on cosmetics in school hours, "do not mention that piece of useless shit in front of me."  
  
Ryo glanced at Kouji's direction quizzically and Kouji just shrugged.  
  
"So how about it?" Jocelyn got back to the topic, looking at Kouji right at the eye, and giving him these famous seducing looks of hers that would work great on any guys. "There's still one space left."  
  
"I'm sorry, miss," a voice interrupted from behind, "but the bass is mine."  
  
"Huh?" Jocelyn turned around and saw, who else? But Kouichi standing there, expressionless. Jocelyn said nothing but gave him a death glare, and walked away.  
  
"Kouichi, thanks," Kouji said in relief.  
  
"Don't sweat it," Kouichi smiled and looked at them all, "well, I better leave you guys alone to practice." Kouichi started to walk away but Ryo called him back.  
  
"Yo, you want to join our band?" Ryo held out a bass, grinning.  
  
"No thanks, appreciate it, but I don't know how to play," with that, he walked out swiftly back to the music classroom.  
  
"Hmm..."Ryo stared at the bass, "your brother is a weird one, Kouji."  
  
Kouji said nothing, just standing there.  
  
"Can we start playing or are we going to stand here all class?" Ryuko was starting to get annoyed and she was still pissed at Jocelyn. Kouji didn't want to, however; the lyrics in the song, he just couldn't stand it.  
  
But they had to practice so they all got into their positions and Ryuko started by playing off the first beat. In a few seconds, they were in full swing.

(_Italics_ stand for lyrics)  
  
_You're supposed to give more than you take  
  
You had my heart on your plate  
  
You stopped loving me so fast  
  
There are stories left untold  
  
But you act like they're all old  
  
But then you and I we belong together again and I said  
_  
"Why are you so cruel, Izumi?" Kouji thought bitterly as he strummed his guitar hard.  
  
_Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh  
  
I think I'm feeling lonely again  
_  
Kouji sang, holding his microphone with one hand and the other still strumming hard. Ryo, who was playing the keyboard, glanced over at Kouji worriedly, and then looked over at Ryuko who gave him the same worried look. They both knew something was wrong.  
  
_Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh  
  
I think I'm feeling lonely  
_  
Kouji's eyes felt hot, as if they were on fire and tears stung his eyes but he tried to blink them away.  
  
_You're supposed to look into my eyes  
  
Forever and all time  
  
You stopped loving me that way  
  
And I never thought that I  
  
I would ever have to cry out  
_  
That you and I we belong together again and I said  
"You can't do this to me," Kouji thought, his mind clouded from different thoughts mixing together, "you just can't!"  
  
_Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh  
  
I think I'm feeling lonely again  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh  
  
I think I'm feeling lonely  
  
I feel you tossing and turning  
  
I know there are walls we have to climb  
  
I sit here waiting and yearning  
  
Cause I know we can get by  
  
You're supposed to look into my eyes  
  
Forever and all time  
  
You stopped loving me that way  
  
And I never thought that I  
  
I would ever have to cry out  
  
That you and I we belong together again  
_  
"NO..." Kouji deemed, "I can't take this...I need revenge." (Meeko: Whoa! Kouji is turning crazy!)  
  
_Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh  
  
I think I'm feeling lonely again  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh sha nah nah  
  
Whoaooh  
  
I think I'm feeling lonely_  
  
And it was settle that Kouji needed vengeance. Why? He was depressed and needed to try to cause pain to Izumi's life or at the least, make her jealous.  
  
"Yes," Kouji thought again as they finished and were packing stuff away for the next class, "that's what I'm going to do."

Meeko: See? Longer chapter! Happy?


	8. Sweet Revenge, or is it? Part 1

Da Capo -Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: Hey dudes and dudettes! I'm sorry if I update too slowly...because I've got stupid summer class and all. Yea, so here you go!  
  
Recap from Chapter 7  
  
And it was settle that Kouji needed vengeance. Why? He was depressed and needed to try to cause pain to Izumi's life or at the least, make her jealous.  
  
"Yes," Kouji thought again as they finished and were packing stuff away for the next class, "that's what I'm going to do."  
  
Chapter 8: Sweet Revenge, or is it? Part 1  
  
"But who can help me?" Kouji was deep in thought once again as he headed towards his room to drop off his guitar and speakers. Meanwhile, Ryo was nowhere to be seen. But Kouji could so see Ryo talking to Ryuko, trying to grab her attention or, well, you know where.  
  
Kouji walked heavily up the stairs and he was just about to turn to his door when something caught his eyes. Someone, actually, to be precise. Jocelyn Clarkson was leaning against the door, Kouji's room door, with her pale blue eyes staring at Kouji.  
  
"Great," Kouji thought dully, "this is just what I need, another bit- " He stopped and blinked," wait a minute, I know who can help now." He inched closer to his door and to Jocelyn. Now that Kouji had a better view, he saw with a bit of both disgust and surprise that Jocelyn's tie, a part of the uniform was gone, and a few buttons of her shirt were undone, revealing parts of her bulging breasts.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Kouji asked coolly, closing in on her.  
  
"You know what I want," Jocelyn whispered sweetly, tracing her fingers around Kouji's chin lines and still looking at his dark cerulean eyes in return.  
  
"Actually," Kouji replied, his lips twitched, "unless you tell me what you want, get the hell out of this building."  
  
"All I want," Jocelyn barely whispered, closing the space between them and her lips were almost at Kouji's, "is you." Kouji pulled Jocelyn into his strong embrace (Meeko: Shame on you!) and kissed her without thinking much of it. When he was studying in England, he dated a few girls just to try and get his mind off Izumi. The truth was that Kouji never felt any attachment to them, for any special reason. Sure, he felt he was in love once again every time he dated a new girl, but that feeling wouldn't last a week, or even a day in a few cases. And in the case of Jocelyn, well, Kouji didn't expect any exceptions from this girl he was now, pulling gently into his room, while still kissing her.  
  
His electric guitar lay forgotten outside the room, Kouji closed the door and led Jocelyn to his bed. Kouji wasn't too worried about people barging in. The only person who would barge in would probably be Ryo, who lived here, but he wasn't too worried about that either, since Ryo was so obsessed with Ryuko these days.  
  
Jocelyn, while moaning in Kouji's arms, started to undo Kouji's shirt buttons.  
  
"Shit," Kouji thought, startled at her sudden action, "what the fuck does she think she's doing?" This was only, what, the third time they had met and they hadn't even said ten sentences to each other. Ryo was right; this Jocelyn Clarkson here was one bitch.  
  
Meeko: Ok! I have to go now. I know this is short but the best is coming, ok? I promise I'll write longer for the next part...although I might not be able to come up to it. Oh well! 


	9. Sweet Revenge, or is it? Part 2

Da Capo -Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: Hi...here I am updating because I don't want to get started on my socials project...stupid socials project! Anyways, here you go!  
  
Recap from last chapter:  
  
"Shit," Kouji thought, startled at her sudden action, "what the fuck does she think she's doing?" This was only, what, the third time they had met and they hadn't even said ten sentences to each other. Ryo was right; this Jocelyn Clarkson here was one bitch.  
  
End of Recap  
  
Chapter 8: Sweet Revenge, or is it? Part 2  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" Kouji muttered, though still kissing Jocelyn roughly on the neck. Jocelyn's lips, while moaning with pleasure, curled into a smile, a cold one. She said nothing and slipped one arm around his waist, the other taking off his shirt.  
  
Kouji had no intention what so ever to do this, but he had to gain her trust, no matter what. But he made no action to remove her clothes just to indicate that he didn't want to do it, or he was hesitated to do it, because his mind was still on Izumi.  
  
"Stupid brain," Kouji yelled mentally, caressing Jocelyn's body, although not willingly, "stop thinking about her! She's ancient history!" But deep inside his heart, Kouji knew that it was not true. He was just kidding himself.  
  
By now, Jocelyn had taken off her school shirt, which wouldn't had made much difference anyways and she was crawling over Kouji on the bed when they both heard a noise.  
"What the hell was that?" Kouji whispered, putting a stop to what they were doing and he was listening hard, ignoring the hot breathes from Jocelyn on his neck. Foot steps were coming from down the stairs, creaking. Ryo? Another student or maybe even worst, a teacher?  
  
"Shit," Kouji muttered, scrambling up. Jocelyn lazily got off the bed and stood, unmoving.  
  
"What the hell are you waiting for?" Kouji asked, imagining what a teacher would do to find a pair, nearly naked in a student dorm during class time. "Run for it!" But there was no way out other than the stairs and the footsteps were louder now.  
  
Jocelyn shook her long sheet of silvery hair and unhurriedly hid under the bed, as if all she was doing right now was hide and seek. All too soon, the foot steps stopped at Kouji's door and knocked three times. Kouji, after making sure that Jocelyn was well hidden, trotted to the door.  
  
Opening it, he found himself face to face with Ms. Goldsmith the grade twelve councilor.  
  
"Erm..." Kouji stalled for time, scratching his hair and embarrassed at the absence of his shirt, "good afternoon, Ms. Goldsmith." He tried to smile but his muscles seemed to freeze from nervousness.  
  
"Good afternoon, Kouji," she said kindly, though eyeing him with slight suspicion, "may I ask why you're not in class?" She stepped into his room, watching everything within her eyesight and spotted something peculiar.  
  
"I have a serious headache," Kouji said weakly, "and I was about to get some rest."  
  
"Hmm..." Ms. Goldsmith strolled towards Kouji's bed. Kouji's heart jumped a beat faster. She bent down and picked up, Kouji walked closer to get a better look.  
  
"Oh shit," in Ms. Goldsmith's hand was a white uniform shirt, Jocelyn's uniform shirt, to be exact. Kouji was sweating badly now, his palms became clammy and he was hiding them from Ms. Goldsmith's view.  
  
"If I'm not mistaken," Ms. Goldsmith started, glancing at Kouji with more suspicion every second, "this is not your shirt, nor is it your roommate's." The shirt was too slim for a guy who's in grade twelve.  
  
"No," Kouji admitted. "Great," Kouji thought, grinding his teeth hard," now what am I suppose to say?" He decided to make things up.  
  
"Then how do you explain this?" Ms. Goldsmith pushed on, almost glaring at Kouji. Kouji just felt like he could disappear into the ground and stay there.  
  
"Erm..." instead, Kouji tried to think up things, "my...err...mom bought the wrong shirt when she's getting my uniform. She thought it was for boys." Kouji tried to act as innocent and cute as he could, " I was just about to throw it out."  
  
"Oh man," Kouji punched himself inside, "that was such a stupid lie." But he couldn't come up with anything better.  
  
"I see," Ms. Goldsmith said, looking at Kouji doubtfully, then she looked at the bed and suddenly asked, "then you wouldn't mind me looking under that bed of yours, would you?"  
  
"Erm..." now Kouji was frantic, what was he suppose to say?  
  
"I mean," Kouji said, "sure, Ms. Goldsmith, except, you know, there are lots of spider webs under there and I was trying to clean them up and all." He said all this really fast.  
  
Ms. Goldsmith nodded. Kouji was relief but what Ms. Goldsmith did next almost make him swore out loud. She looked under his bed!  
  
Meeko: Ta-da! Am I evil or am I evil? I wanted to continue to write but I like a cliffy better! Give me some comment and I'll update, although the next update will probably be next week at the earliest. Evil summer school! Don't blame me! 


	10. Author's AnnouncementsPlease READ!

----------## [**Author's Announcements**] ##----------  
  
Meeko: I'm sorry, but this is not the update. Actually, I'm here to tell you that this story is UNDER CONSTRUCTION...yes...and it's not going to be updated for a few weeks.  
  
So...  
  
Here's what you can read before you get yourself bored:  
  
**2032 I.A.** - This is a story of Inuyasha and The Day After Tomorrow cross- over, my newest story so far. Try it out, I need those DAMN comments!   
  
Summary: Inuyasha and The Day After Tomorrow X-over. Kagome and Laura were the best of friends when suddenly Kagome had to leave for Japan. Year 2030, the year when North America was frozen over for another Ice Age, those manage to escape to Mexico, including Laura Chapman and Sam Hall, were safely situated until the Ice Age was over. Now 2 years later, Sam and Laura were sent to Japan for a mission. Is Kagome gone for good( I mean bad), or is she still alive somehow?  
  
**Under The Twilight** - A one-shot on Miroku and Sango in the anime of Inuyasha.  
  
Summary: This is set in the modern times and the whole gang is students in a high school in Japan. It's the last day of school and Inuyasha and Kagome are going to a party in the modern time held by one of Kagome's friends. Sango and Miroku planned to go but a mere coincidence put them in a really romantic situation . . . too romantic! Mir X San br Rated "PG-13" for language. . . a one shot story!  
  
So, here they are! Just surf on and check them out!  
  
So long! 


	11. Sweet Revenge, or is it? Part 3

**Da Capo  
**  
-by Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: Hey, 2 more weeks of torturing and I'm free! Thank you for the reviews and for being so honest with me, some of you. I really appreciate them. Really. Also thank you for being so patient, here's your chapter. Enjoy!

Recap from last chapter:  
  
"I mean," Kouji said, "sure, Ms. Goldsmith, except, you know, there are lots of spider webs under there and I was trying to clean them up and all." He said all this really fast.  
  
Ms. Goldsmith nodded. Kouji was relief but what Ms. Goldsmith did next almost make him swore out loud. She looked under his bed!  
  
End of RecapChapter 8: Sweet Revenge, or is it? Part 3"Fuck," Kouji found himself muttering under his breathe.  
  
"Excuse me?" Mrs. Goldsmith turned back to him, her eyebrows raised.  
  
"Erm..." Kouji stunted, "nothing."  
  
"Alright then," Mrs. Goldsmith still looked at Kouji with distrust and stuck her head under the bed. (Meeko: The bed is pretty high) Kouji held his breathe and his heart were beating so damn fast that it was hurting Kouji in the chest.  
  
"One of these seconds now," Kouji thought frantically as his hands went even sweatier than before. But that 'second' never came as Mrs. Goldsmith emerged from the bed and shook her head.  
  
"You should really clean that space under your bed," Mrs. Goldsmith only commented. Kouji could not believe his eyes or ears. He actually thought he would be kicked out for sure.  
  
Sighing with relief without being too obvious in front of Mrs. Goldsmith, Kouji smiled and replied, "Of course, Mrs. Goldsmith, I was just thinking of doing that right now."  
  
Nodding, Mrs. Goldsmith finally left the once again quiet room, leaving Kouji flushed with embarrassment.  
  
Crawling out with only her bra and skirt on, Jocelyn once again flung herself onto Kouji but he obviously wasn't in the mood after almost being caught at it.  
  
Shrugging Jocelyn off roughly, Kouji suddenly found himself so...dirty; he felt like he had to take ten baths and even ten at the moment did not sound enough after touching Jocelyn Clarkson.  
  
"What's wrong with me?" Kouji asked himself, mentally banging his head on the wall, "this is just not right."  
  
"Ok, so Izumi just dumped me," Kouji thought dully, "but that's not the end of the world, is it?" He didn't even notice when Jocelyn left, with a scowl on her pretty face.  
  
He lay on his bed and glanced up at the graying ceiling for a few seconds, then closed his eyes to try and forget all of the things that had happened to him so fast he couldn't even adjust.  
  
But the moment he let his eyelids close, Izumi's expressionless face hovered in front of him, telling him they were 'officially over'.  
  
Kouji forced his eyes open.  
  
"Damn," Kouji swore," why can't I just forget about her?"  
  
"Maybe I just need some time to quiet down," Kouji convinced himself," yes, after a few days, I can lead a normal life again, without Izumi's face sticking in my brain when ever I sleep and who knows, maybe we can still be friends."  
  
With that, he walked into the bathroom, deciding to scrub himself hard to get the 'Jocelyn germs' off his body as quickly as possible before the next bell.

----------  
  
An earsplitting bell at six o'clock at Vancouver International Secondary only indicated one thing: dinner time!  
  
Students from different dorms down the avenue scurried into the main building with their friends and peers to the dining hall.  
  
Kouji walked alone down the street, since Ryo was nowhere in sight. Knowing him, he was probably bothering, or in Ryo's words, 'flirting', with Ryuko. Sure enough, Kouji caught sight of Ryo, along with Ryuko, Elli and Izumi marching up the stairs into the school building.  
  
He kept a slight distance, not wanting Izumi to see himself in such a miserable mess.  
  
Entering into the dining hall, Kouji lined up with a few other kids in between himself and the group, or a.k.a the group including Izumi.  
  
Kouji wasn't that hungry, so he just settled with a bowl of salad and some noodle soup and set himself near the group but not so close as to they could see him.  
  
Unfortunately, Ryo had really good eyes and spotted Kouji right away. Even worst, he started yelling across the room, "Kouji! Come over here, someone wants to see you!"  
  
Sighing and cursing why he had such an annoying and loud mouthed roommate, he pretended he was not Kouji and continued to eat his salad. He wasn't about to join a table with Izumi sitting stiffly next to him like they had met for the first time and wishing they would never meet again, ever.  
  
Without noticing, someone just sat herself beside Kouji and in an unnecessarily close distance. Kouji almost literally jumped with a heart attack when he saw who it was.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked harshly to the silver haired girl who had just brought a tray to join him and who Kouji just did not feel like sitting with at the moment.  
  
"To look at your miserable face and Orimoto's pathetic expression between you two's special relationship," Jocelyn replied smoothly as she brushed her leg lightly against Kouji's.  
  
"So she knew we just broke up," Kouji thought, stabbing the lettuce with redundant force. He felt sick at being seen with Jocelyn by Izumi herself, though, Kouji didn't know why he still care.  
  
"Just leave me alone," Kouji muttered, twisting the fork in his hands.  
  
"What if I won't?" she asked slyly, putting her hand on Kouji's arm and teasingly drawing circles on his skin with her slim finger.  
  
"I will make sure you do," Kouji replied hatefully and faced her.  
  
Smiling lightly, Jocelyn came up close to Kouji's still twisted face and without any sign of warning, she forced a kiss on Kouji's lips, a fiery one at that.  
  
She was just so skillful at it that it was impossible to think of her as an innocent grade twelve girl. Every touch and every lick of her was like a little piece of heaven for any guy; any guy except Kouji Minamoto, who actually had the common sense to push her roughly off of himself.  
  
Standing up abruptly, with everyone around his table glancing at him in a strange way, Kouji looked over at Izumi's table and saw, without any surprise, that Izumi's chair was empty.  
  
"Damn that stupid bitch," Kouji muttered heatedly as he left his food untouched and attempted to chase after Izumi.  
  
But no sooner did he reach the dining hall door, a figure halted him.  
  
"You got some explaining to do, mister," Ryo Akiyama told him seriously, looking darkly at the direction Izumi had just ran out, tears stinging in her sea green eyes.

Meeko: Like it? Hate it? What ever! Just throw me some comments! Anything! 


	12. The Briliant Idea

**Da Capo (At the Beginning)**  
  
-Meeko Melodie  
  
Meeko: Thank you so much for all your reviews! I get all excited and hyper when I get reviews. Heh... Anyhow, Digimon does not belong to me, once again.  
  
And to answer one of my beloved reviewer's question: No, Ryo is not in love with Izumi, just no. He's a protective friend, that's for sure and he's obsessed with Ryuko.

----------  
  
Recap from last chapter:  
  
But no sooner did he reach the dining hall door, a figure halted him.  
  
"You got some explaining to do, mister," Ryo Akiyama told him seriously, looking darkly at the direction Izumi had just ran out, tears stinging in her sea green eyes.  
  
End of Recap

----------  
  
Chapter 9: A Brilliant Idea  
  
"Look," Kouji said desperately, trying to push off Ryo, "can we have this little talk later because this is not really the best time."  
  
"No," Ryo insisted, "this is serious." He looked so stern and kept sending Kouji these scary looking glares that Kouji had no choice but to let Izumi go, again.  
  
"Alright," Kouji sighed, "what is it?" They started the walk back to their dormitory.  
  
"It's about Izumi," Ryo replied simply, they had stepped outside the school building.  
  
Kouji tensed up. Why did he just have to be an ass hole and bring it up? Light breeze was dancing against his cheeks, making Kouji felt more awake than ever.  
  
"What about her?" Kouji asked, using his most neutral voice, although it was kind of hard because his throat was getting unbelievably tight.  
  
"What about her?!" Ryo practically shouted, shocking Kouji a little, "Kouji, you stupid bastard, what were you thinking when you were kissing her?"  
  
"Her?" Kouji pretended he had no idea what Ryo was talking about. Ryo continued to send him daggers.  
  
"Jocelyn Clarkson, smart ass," Ryo replied ruthlessly, dipping in sarcasm.  
  
"Oh, her," Kouji continued to act as if nothing dreadful was happening but his heart really was a real mess. His eyes darted to the ground, unable to look at Ryo straight in the eye.  
  
"Yea, her," Ryo repeated vacantly.  
  
They were quiet for a few moments until they reached their dorm.  
  
"So aren't you going to do anything about it?" Ryo burst out hotly, turning to him. His eyes were, as hard as it was to believe, blazing with fire (because he was always so cheerful it was seldom to see Ryo getting all angry).  
  
"Or maybe you are starting to fall for that bitch Jocelyn-what's-her-god-damn-disgusting-name?" he continued to glared at Kouji. Kouji was motionless, blood draining out of his already pale face.  
  
"No, that's not true," Kouji shouted back, "I hate her! I hate that bitch!" It was true too. That was gratifying, the yelling and declaration of hatred towards that human being people called her pretty.  
  
Ryo smirked.  
  
"So, what are you going to do about it?" Ryo asked, cocking an eyebrow, "now that you finally have your senses back." He added.  
  
"My senses are always here," Kouji replied, rolling his eyes.  
  
"What ever, so what are you going to do about her?" Ryo repeated.  
  
"Oh, that Jocelyn bitch is going to pay for it alright," Kouji grinded his teeth, hard, "I'm going to-"  
  
"Whoa, hold it," Ryo instructed as they enter their room," as much as I do enjoy listening how you're going to make that Jocelyn suffer, I must ask you to remain sane and think about other important stuff."  
  
"And that is..." Kouji lifted an eyebrow.  
  
"Are you being stupid or are you just being the Kouji Minamoto that you are?" Ryo asked sardonically and he continued," I'm talking about Izumi."  
  
"Oh," Kouji sounded unsure again.  
  
"Come on," Ryo shouted desperately, "just go and get your girl already! People who are not blind can see you're still in love with her! God-damn-it, even those who are blind can sense it!"  
  
Still, Kouji remained silent.  
  
"She hates me," Kouji stated suddenly, throwing himself onto the bed, "even if she doesn't hate me before, now she's going to hate me for sure."  
  
"Don't be too pessimistic, my dear friend," Ryo smiled, patting Kouji's shoulder sympathetically. Somehow, the glint of Ryo's sky blue eyes told Kouji his mischievous friend had something in his mind, but what?  
  
"What are you thinking?" Kouji asked suspiciously, afraid of what Ryo might think up of.  
  
"Don't look at me like that, Minamoto," Ryo said, "this brilliant idea of mine is just the solution you might need so you better be sincere."  
  
"Alright, alright," Kouji gave up, laughing and said in mockery, "o great one, please tell me what to do?" Even if Ryo's plans were sometimes...entertaining and interesting, yes, he would put it this way, most of the plans did work. So Kouji was going to hear Ryo out.  
  
"Okay," Ryo started, getting all business-like, "tell me, Kouji, what are you best at?"  
  
"Huh?" Kouji was struck by this question," what am I best at? Aren't you supposed to be the one who's helping me here?"  
  
Ryo sighed, "I'm here to guide you, you poor, little, lost lover-boy." He grinned.  
  
Kouji decided to ignore his remark and think. Okay, what is he best at? Well, that's really easy; he had been doing it since he was three.  
  
"Piano," Kouji announced.  
  
"Good, good," Ryo said, his eyes still glinting excitedly, "we're getting there. Now, other than piano, what is it that you're best at?"  
  
"Again?" Kouji asked, scratching his head, "err...guitar?"  
  
"Bingo!" Ryo yelled, "So what you're going to do is exactly what you did years before in that piano competition and pour your heart out, except this time..."  
  
"What?" Kouji asked, uncomfortably.  
  
"You're going to sing out all your god-damn feelings to that girl you love," Ryo declared and added playfully, "in other words: Izumi Orimoto."  
  
"Right," Kouji sighed thoughtfully. He should have thought of that; it was that simple, yet brilliant.  
  
"Akiyama, you actually came up with some thing good this time," Kouji exclaimed.  
  
"What do you mean, this time?" Ryo protested, "I have great ideas every time someone asks for help!"  
  
"Yea, sure," Kouji replied. His heart became much lighter now that he had the idea how to get Izumi back; how to get her girl back into his embrace.  
  
And the thought of it was soothing and ...nice.

----------  
  
Meeko: So...how's it? See? I'm trying to update it as quickly but summer school exam is coming, so I'm going to die soon! Ahh...send some comments or suffer!


	13. Alone and Not Alone

**Da Capo (At the Beginning)**

-Meeko Melodie

Meeko: Konichiwa! Weekend! Listening to some random Japanese songs! Update! Of course, thank you so much for your reviews!

---

Recap from last chapter:

His heart became much lighter now that he had the idea how to get Izumi back; how to get her girl back into his embrace.

And the thought of it was soothing and ...nice.

End of Recap

---

**Chapter 10: Alone and Not Alone**

The sky was getting darker by the minute. Traces of stars were starting to appear in the slightly darkening sky across the city of Vancouver. Soft breezes were rippling across the deserted street that led to Vancouver International Secondary, bringing leaves racing across the empty path.

It was only September and already, it was starting to get chilly.

Izumi hugged herself to keep her body warm, although it didn't really work because wind was fiercely slashing her slim body.

Still, Izumi continued to walk against the wind while her eyes were stung hot with tears. They rolled down from her emerald green eyes and burned her cold cheeks.

She didn't even bother to brush them away. They just kept rolling down her cheeks and fell onto the ground, shaping five-pedaled flowers on the concrete ground.

Walking without noticing where she was going, with tears blurring her sight, she bumped into something hard, or rather someone.

Izumi looked up and saw a pair of dark blue eyes staring intently at her.

"Kouichi, what-what are you doing here?" Izumi asked amazedly. [Meeko: Yes, Izumi still didn't know he was in the school all along.]

Kouichi smiled lightly, "I'm here to ask you why you're here, crying your heart out?"

Izumi smiled back weakly, "Well, I-" She stopped. "No, seriously, Kouichi, why are you here?" She was so light-headed after the shock of witnessing something she shouldn't: Kouji kissing another girl, that she didn't even notice Kouichi's school uniform.

"I just decided to join you for fun," Kouichi replied, obviously pointing at himself and the noticeable clothes.

"Oh," Izumi exclaimed, finally getting it.

"You seem very surprise," Kouichi noted, leaning slightly on the street light pole that was standing near them.

"Well," Izumi laughed, brushing away her tears quickly and hoping Kouichi did not notice, "it wasn't everyday you can reunite with a friend in a boarding school out of hundreds of others in the world."

"True," Kouichi admitted, and then decided to change the topic, "so why are you so sad?"

Izumi had wished Kouichi wouldn't bring it up, "it was nothing, really."

"Liar," Kouichi stated carelessly, looking straight into Izumi's tear-stricken eyes.

Izumi dodged Kouichi's x-ray gaze and stared at the ground, ignoring his foot which was tapping impatiently against the ground.

She wished Kouichi would take his eyes off her, which was making her uncomfortable every minute flew by.

"It's alright if you do not want to tell me," Kouichi backed down, "it is your right to keep something private to yourself." This only made Izumi guiltier than ever.

After a while, "I know what you're thinking," Kouichi told her.

"You...you do?" Izumi questioned, frowning as she looked up.

"Kouji problems, am I right?" Kouichi fired back neatly.

Izumi could only hang her head down again and she nodded in defeat.

"I don't know why you're worrying," Kouichi said, switching his weight from one foot to the other, "apparently, he looks like he still misses you."

Izumi took it as if it was a joke, and she laughed bitterly, "Sure he misses me whenever he was not around that silver-haired girl."

"So apparently, kissing that girl does not count as one of those missing moments of his," Izumi finished confessing. She felt much lighter after she said that out loud to someone.

"Huh?" Kouichi was confused, "but he did look miserable in music class today."

"Sure he did," Izumi said sarcastically, not believing one word of it.

"I'm serious, Izumi," Kouichi continued, taking note of her sarcastic voice, "his eyes turn all red when he was practicing that song about being 'lonely again' or something like that and I'm sure you know as well as I do that we don't see Kouji Minamoto cry every other day."

"Well, maybe he had dirt in his eyes or something," Izumi said, although her voice sounded unconvincing and she hoped she was right. She hoped Kouji was still missing her.

"Whoa! Hold it right there, Miss Orimoto," a voice shouted in Izumi's head. "I thought the other side of me just told Kouji Minamoto to get lost and forget about me," that little voice continued.

"That's true," the _other_ little voice inside Izumi said, and it argued, "but we just can't help ourselves by missing that blue-haired former cute boyfriend of ours, now can we?"

"Still," her other side disagreed, "we should have some constraint in ourselves and at least tried to ignore him and give him the Cold Stare when he passes by."

"What the hell is the use of that?" the other voice interrupted and on and on it went inside Izumi's head. Typical female internal struggle.

"Izumi, you there?" Kouichi was worried, witnessing her blank face expression.

"Huh?" Izumi had obviously tuned out for a moment there, "yea, I'm just thinking over stuff."

She paused, "maybe...maybe you're right, Kouichi. Maybe..." Izumi stopped again.

"Just take it easy, alright?" Kouichi told Izumi and walked towards her.

"Thanks, Kouichi," Izumi smiled.

"For what?" he asked, now standing in front of Izumi.

"For..." Izumi was lost for words, "for everything." Kouichi embraced her calmly and it startled Izumi for a second. But when he kissed her forehead lightly, then straightened himself up, Izumi realized that he was just being friendly was all.

She sure did not wish that 'incident' kissing with Kouichi three years ago in Ryo's party happened all over again.

Nope.

The memory pained her. That was the day when Kouji stormed on her and demanded break up between them.

But that was all in the past. They were all just part of the ancient history.

The street light pole, that Kouichi was leaning on, ignited and blinding yellow beam glowed, gleaming upon Kouichi and Izumi.

"Well," Izumi started, pacing," I better be going, it's late." She looked up at the almost darkened sky. Stars were glittering brightly above them, happily blinking their eyes from the sinister heaven.

"Alright," he replied simply and started to cross the street. His dorm was on the other side not far from where he was standing.

"Goodnight then," Kouichi added, winking at her playfully, "oh, and do try to win Kouji back from that horrible Jocelyn freak girl whatever-her-last-name-was, because I really do not want such a seductive-yet-evil sister-in-law if they really, unfortunately get married, which I doubted anyway." He grinned and left.

Once again, the street was quiet with Kouichi's footsteps fainting in the way. Wind was whipping viciously but Izumi didn't feel cold anymore.

She still didn't know what was going on between Kouji and that Jocelyn girl but when she found out...

Izumi hugged her body once again and began to walk back to her dormitory.

She hoped Elli remembered to bring her something back from dining hall to eat; she was starving.

Meeko: So, people, how's it? Crummy? I know. But that's the best I could come up with. The usual: send me some comments or suffer, blah...blah...blah...


	14. Girl Talk

**Da Capo (At the Beginning)**

-Meeko Melodie

_:::::_

_I'm trying to forget that  
I'm addicted to you  
But I want it and I need it  
I'm addicted to you  
Now it's over  
Can't forget what you said  
And I never wanna do this again  
Heartbreaker _

_:::::_

---

Meeko: YAY!! Summer school is over! Hong Kong, here I come! But before I go back to HK, I should update this first, so here you go! Oh and thank you so much for all the reviews, they're great! Honest.

Digimon does not belong to me, yet again!

---

_Recap from last chapter_

She still didn't know what was going on between Kouji and that Jocelyn girl but when she found out...

Izumi hugged her body once again and began to walk back to her dormitory.

She hoped Elli remembered to bring her something back from dining hall to eat; she was starving.

_End of Recap_

---

**Chapter 11: Girl Talk**

Izumi was still deep in thought when she finally reached the door to her room. Trying to knock out all the seriousness on her face, she turned the door knob and stepped in, revealing a fake smile.

On Elli's bed were Elli herself, who was sitting at the edge of her bed and from the looks of her, talking to Ryuko who was lying vertically on her bed, looking bored and tired at the same time.

"Hey, you're back early," Elli teased. She was trying to act neutral after all the commotion back in the dining hall. Izumi was grateful, but she really needed her friends' advice.

"Am I?" she replied, smiling carelessly and flung on her bed casually.

"Izumi, don't try to be pretend this is just hunky-dory (I really don't know what it means, but I think it means 'don't pretend everything is fine again'; it was from Beyblade, I think) because it isn't," Ryuko started in her would-be-cold voice, "your ex-boyfriend kissed another girl and you can't pretend it didn't happen."

"How-how did you know?" Izumi was surprised, she didn't remember telling Ryuko about her relation problems, or did she? Nope. She was certain.

"Know what?" Ryuko asked, curling and playing with her dark hair.

"Know Kouji is my-" Izumi stopped, and sighed; she couldn't bring herself up to say this.

"Ex-boyfriend?" Elli suggested helpfully. Izumi nodded.

Ryuko pointed at Elli innocently, who was bouncing on her bed at the moment and stopped when both Ryuko and Izumi stared at her. Elli stopped bouncing and winced uncomfortably under her friends' stares, or should one say, glares?

"Wh-what?" Elli asked nervously, "hey do not look at me like that, it was Ryo who told me about you two." She looked over at Izumi.

"Should have known," Ryuko muttered, "stupid Akiyama."

"Ryuko, what have you got against Akiyama anyway?" Izumi asked slyly, stressing on Ryo's last name just to annoy Ryuko. And it worked.

Ryuko blushed lightly, hoping no one would see, but too late, Izumi and Elli's grin grew wide.

"What?" Ryuko was irritated now, her face a flushing red.

"Nothing," Izumi and Elli chanted together in a sing-song voice, which was just adding oil to a fire.

"Just spill it," Ryuko said desperately, messing up her long hair in a frantic action way.

"Ryuko Ishida likes Ryo Akiyama!" Izumi and Elli yelled out, giggling at the same time. Ryuko just stared at them like they had lost it.

"I do not like that stupid pervert," Ryuko argued, folding her arms across her chest.

"A 'stupid pervert' is he?" Elli asked, grinning, "He's head-over-heels for you, Ryuko, and from his point of view, that's saying something!"

"She meant that's r_eally_, _really_ saying something, considering it's Ryo Akiyama, the King-of-player-of-them-all, we're talking about," Izumi added, playing around with her blanket.

Ryuko shrugged, "who cares? He's still a pervert and now you've also remind me that he's a god-damn player as well." She turned her back towards them.

"Aw, come on Ryuko," Elli comforted, "we didn't mean to add the insult to your boyfriend-I mean-" She quickly changed what she had said when she saw what Ryuko's eyes looked like, "your male friend." Izumi stifled a giggle. Elli sent her a you're-not-helping-me-here glare.

"Enough about us already," Ryuko snapped," now back to the topic we were discussing earlier, Kouji and you, Izumi." Sometimes, Izumi really do hate Ryuko, in a nice way. (Meeko: Erm...can anyone hate in a 'nice way')

"So now it's 'us'," Elli was still trying to bite Ryuko's head off, "not 'me and him'?"

Ryuko rolled her eyes in exasperation, "oh, Ellison Black, would you give it up already?" Elli just shrugged.

"Ok, so back to where we had started," Ryuko began again, "now where was I? Oh yes, you can't pretend nothing happen between you two."

"What can I do? So Kouji kissed that girl-" she was interrupted by Elli's "that Jocelyn bitch-what-ever-her-last-name-is, 'girl' would be an understatement for her."

"All right," Izumi agreed whole-heartedly, "so Kouji kissed that Jocelyn bitch-what-ever-her-last-name-is, what am I going to do about it? I mean, what the hell can I possibly do?" She was desperate, just damn desperate.

"Talk to Kouji and say 'we're over'," Ryuko replied simply without a second thought. Elli just stared at her.

"Ryuko," Elli exclaimed, "how can you say that? Shouldn't we at least give him a second chance?"

"Second chance?" Ryuko's voice was bitterly cold, "guys don't need second chance because hell, they can have just so many second chances they're not called second chance anymore. It would more be like third chance, fourth chance and on and on..." Ryuko sounded harsher with every word.

Izumi was worried; it wasn't like Ryuko to be this...emotional. She glanced over at Elli, who gave her a knowing a nod and both of them stayed quiet until Ryuko was calmed down.

"Hey Ryuko, are you ok?" Izumi asked uncertainly after a few minutes.

"Hell yes," she replied quietly, "just trust me, Izumi, if you've already given him a second chance, which I know you did, just get rid of him before he hurts you even more deeply." Ryuko turned away from her friends and left the room without another word.

After another minute or two, "so Elli, are you ever going to tell me what's wrong with Ryuko or not?" Izumi wanted to know.

"It's a long story," Elli explained, now lying back on her bed.

"We've got all night," Izumi reminded her.

"All right," Elli sat back up again, "it all started two years ago when Ryuko started dating this boy and well, you know Ryuko, she's always the tomboy and plays tough, and that was the first time she actually fall in love with someone."

"Uh huh," Izumi nodded, asking her to continue.

"They started out pretty well and all," Elli continued while bouncing on her bed again, "and things were pretty warm and cozy between the two. They were so happy together, always taking walks and talking to each other..." She drew off.

"Then...?" Izumi questioned.

"I'm getting there," Elli said, annoyed, "then one day a few months later, Ryuko saw his boyfriend getting close to this other girl and well, closer than what friends should be, and you can guess what happened."

"Cut off from him?" Izumi suggested, thinking what Ryuko would probably do from her personality.

"Not exactly," Elli said, stopped bouncing and looked out the window, "she gave him a second chance and things seemed to be normal once again. Or at least, that's what Ryuko and I thought until..."

"Let me guess," Izumi said, screwing up her face to pretend she was concentrating hard, "the guy got another girlfriend?"

"A cliché, if you ask me," Elli said, feeling sorry for her friend all of a sudden, "and you know who the 'lucky girl' was?"

Izumi shook her head, her blond hair messing with every movement.

"Jocelyn Clarkson," Elli replied, rolling her eyes in disgust.

"No way," Izumi exclaimed, "but from the looks of her and the rumors, I guess it wasn't exactly a surprise." Her face turned dark.

"That's Jocelyn's job, that is," Elli added, "to break up the couples and fuck the guy." Izumi sighed, now she knew how Ryuko must've felt and she was feeling sorry for her. Yet, she didn't how to change her friend's view about love after that first disastrous relationship that she had experienced. It must've been painful.

For a second there, she wondered about Kouji. She wondered if Kouji... Izumi shook herself mentally and scolded herself, "stop it, Izumi Orimoto, he would not do that! He would not!" But what was the proof? The fact was, she had none; and there was a good and bad side of it. She tried not to think about it...the bad side, at least.

"So that's why she was all emotional back there," Izumi wondered out loud.

"I guess so," Elli replied, sighing.

"We can't blame her though," Izumi said, "she was hurt badly and it was understandable that she wanted to be, I guess, protected herself from other people, especially males, for that matter."

"Well, she got used to it," Elli said, shrugging, "I mean, just look at her, she's tough. But I'm having a feeling that Ryo won't give up on her that easily. I think he's serious this time, for once in his life time." She smirked.

Izumi smiled a little, "then let us hope Ryo can influence her, somehow, and hopefully in a good way." Elli laughed out loud and Izumi did the same. Ryo Akiyama? Good influence? The world is ending.

This wasn't exactly how Izumi wanted to end it, the relationship. She didn't want to be always so suspicious about Kouji and giving him lots of 'second chances' which he already got. She could take Ryuko's advice and get Kouji Minamoto out of her damned mind or she could ask him about Jocelyn and their... connection, if one could call it that.

Izumi really wanted to take the second option but she thought about it, deeply. What good would that do? If it was true that Kouji was really, Izumi gulped, in love with Jocelyn and vice versa, then Izumi would be on the highway straight to hell.

But, Izumi thought again, if all of that was a stupid mistake, then...maybe, just maybe, there was a chance to get back together again.

She didn't want to think about it anymore. Izumi was starting to get a headache from all this. A bad one at that.

Meeko: So, you people like it? I made it a bit longer than usual because I'm going back to HK and I don't know if I have time to update as often but I'll try my best, ok? So, in the mean time, give me you precious comments and have fun for the rest of the summer!


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